


Foor for You

by fireproof_harry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Liam Payne & Louis Tomlinson Friendship, M/M, Model!Zayn, designer!liam, designer!louis, larry stylinson - Freeform, model!niall, very small mentions of smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 22:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6629512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireproof_harry/pseuds/fireproof_harry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis has two jobs; first he is primarily a fashion designer, and second plays matchmaker for his best friend. His whole world gets turned upside down when his friend gets a great deal on Craigslist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! so this is the first chapter of this story. I'm not sure yet how many there will be. Let me know what you think of it, and I hope everyone enjoys!
> 
> Title is from Fool for You by Zayn.

The clock on Louis’s desk flashed 7:05 a.m. amongst stacks of papers with new designs on them. Louis groaned and rubbed his eyes, wishing he hadn’t pulled an all-nighter.

His family always called him a workaholic, but he never really believed them. He always said he was just very dedicated to his craft. And he was, but one does need some sleep every so often.  
Louis is so caught up in drawing and redrawing sketches of his new collection he doesn’t hear the door creak open.

“Seriously Louis, again?” he hears from the doorway.

Without looking up he replies, “yes Liam, again.”

Liam rolls his eyes and comes to sit across from Louis at his desk, picking up some papers and shuffling through them. Every time he sees a sketch he likes he makes a small noise of approval, something Louis enjoys very much but would never admit.

“You really should get some sleep now and again. But to be fair, these sketches look amazing,” Liam says while holding up a paper with early designs for a matching ballroom gown and tuxedo on it.

“This is my strategy, Liam. I pull all nighters and the inspiration comes around three a.m. It’s a perfect system.”

Liam just rolls his eyes. He has known Louis long enough to know there is no talking him out of his crazy ideas and to start sleeping like a sane person.

“So,” Liam starts, “do you know what collections you are bringing to Paris for the show?”

“Not totally. I really like the ballroom one,” Louis says, gesturing to the paper Liam had held up before. “But I also really like the swimsuit line and Spring collection. I suppose I’ll have to choose three.”

“Do you have all your models? Sometimes it’s easier to decide what to put on show when you see the models, be able to really imagine how they would look wearing it. I knew right away I wanted to show my swimsuit line last year when I hired Zayn,” Liam says with a wink.

Louis stares at him, trying his best to not break a smile. “Yeah well I don’t have some hot model walking for me this year I’m afraid. I guess I’ll have to decide which three based on the actual clothes, not who I want to see stripped naked,” Louis teases.

Liam has known Louis long enough that he knows when Louis is only kidding opposed to when he actually doesn’t like you. At first, Louis hated Liam. Thought he was too serious and proper, he never once agreed to prank the models with him, up until last year that is, when Zayn came along and Louis used Liam’s infatuation with him to his advantage. Ever since they snuck up on Zayn at a photoshoot and sprayed him with water and started a food fight, they have been inseparable.

 

“Speaking of Zayn,” Louis says with a smirk, “how’s that going? The trying hard not to fall for the one of two male models you hired?”

Liam tries to look mad, but it’s hard when he knows Louis is right. “It’s going just fine, thanks for asking,” Liam lies.

“Why don’t you just talk to him already?” Louis says for about the one hundredth time, if Liam’s keeping track correctly. “Basically everyone here knows you like him. And by talking to him I mean past the point of commenting on how his suit looks or what’s for lunch.”

“I don’t even know if he likes guys!” Liam says, exasperated. “How am I supposed to bring that up to him? ‘Hey Zayn, I know we have only talked about sandwiches before but I was just wondering if you like dick or not, if so here’s my number give me a call.’”

“That sounds perfect to me,” Louis says, “You should go find him right now and tell him that.”

“Fuck off,” Liam murmurs, trying to hide his smile. “At least I have the smallest chance of finding a date to the Paris show, it’s suicide if big name designers go without a date you know.”

“Of course I know that,” Louis says, beginning to get annoyed. He knows he doesn’t have a chance with anyone he knows for a date to the show. And he also knows that it looks really bad to show up alone. He has everyone telling him; Liam, Zayn, even his mum when he calls her every week.

“You could always ask Niall,” Liam suggests.

Louis stares at him for a beat, trying to decide if he’s serious or not.

“Niall,” Louis says, “The same Niall who goes to bars on Valentines Day alone purposely to find sad single girls? I don’t think he’d want to go with me, being a guy and all.”

At that moment, Niall happens to walk into the office, feigning anger.

“In my defense,” Niall says, “I have met a lot of really nice girls in bars on Valentines Day.”

“Yeah, but you still always took them home and fucked,” Liam says with a laugh.

“Can’t blame me,” is all Niall says with a shrug as he sits down next to Liam. He picks up the same paper with the ballroom designs on them and shouts “Louis! These are amazing! Your defiantly choosing this line to show right? Are you full on models? If not I definitely want in,” he says in a single breath.

“Sorry Nialler, all full on models,” Louis says without looking up from the sketches he’s currently working on for the swimsuit line.

“I was just saying to Louis that he needs to find a date for the Paris show a.s.a.p, seeing as he hasn’t had a proper relationship in over six years,” Liam says to Niall. 

“That’s true. You really should start trying to find someone Louis, it looks really bad to show up alone,” Niall says nodding his head.

Louis smacks a hand on the table. “Yes I’m aware! Thank you so much for that insight Niall.”

Liam and Niall give each other a look, and Liam nods towards the door, signaling for them to leave. He can tell when Louis has had enough, and right now they are far past that point.

“We’ll see you later Louis,” Niall says as they walk out the door.

“See you,” Louis whispers, not looking up once from his sketches.

****

Louis lays in bed that night, thinking about his new lines and what would look best on a runway. He’s defiantly not thinking about how he’s going to be the only big name designer there who is attending the biggest show of the year alone, he’s defiantly not letting his mind wander there. He doesn’t see why he should have to have a date, the show is about the clothes, not who is hooking up with who.

Even though he still firmly stands by his beliefs that dates are stupid and meaningless, he still wanders to his kitchen to grab his laptop. When he pulls up Craigslist he is only looking out of curiosity, purely interested, he tells himself.

He keeps saying this in his head as he types in ‘fake dates’ in the search bar. Multiple people pop up, boys and girls. He is scrolling through the hundreds of names and faces thinking how stupid of an idea this is, and who would possibly ever hire a stranger to be a pretend date, when one catches his eye.

‘Harry Styles’ the name reads, ‘will fake a date for boy or girl. Cost will vary.’ Louis reads.  
The man in the photo has long, brown curly hair and is wearing a floral shirt that isn’t buttoned until halfway down. Louis thinks he quite resembles Captain Jack Sparrow and wonders if he gets that a lot.

The information under the name tells Louis that Harry has over 5,000 hours of fake dating experience, and customers are left happy, as he has a five star rating.

Louis sees the button that will give him direct contact with Harry if he were interested in his services. He moves the cursor over the button and almost presses it until be snaps back to reality.

Thinking about what an idiot he has become, Louis quickly slams the laptop shut, not wanting to see Harry’s disgustingly beautiful face anymore.

He goes back to lie in his bed again, and falls asleep defiantly not thinking about how Harry would feel laying behind him, how he would kiss his neck before they fall asleep and have slow sex the next morning. Nope, defiantly not thinking about that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's chapter two! i hope anyone who reads it so far is enjoying! This chapter is a bit longer than the first one, and I'm hoping that I can make the follow ones even longer. alright so let me know what you think so far!

Louis wakes up the next morning with his stomach already in knots. The Paris show is two weeks away and he hasn’t finished one of his lines completely. At this point, the designers are supposed to be submitting what they want to show to get final approval.

He is still laying in bed dreading the thought of doing anything productive when his dog Max runs into the room, demanding food.

Every time Liam is over he tells Louis that Max will one day be taller than Louis, him being a Great Dane and all. Louis firmly doesn’t believe that, no matter how many people call him tiny, thank you very much.

Louis groans as he rolls out of bed, trudging to the kitchen to fix two breakfasts. He pops two slices of bread in the toaster for him and pours a bowlful of food for Max.

As he sits down at the kitchen table to eat, finally coming to the fact that maybe today won’t be terrible after all, him phone rings. Louis looks at the caller i.d. and answers the call in between bites of toast.

“Hey Nick, what’s up?” Louis asks with fake happiness.

“You know what’s up, Louis. Your supposed to have your final lines submitted to me by 10 a.m. and your still in the process of designing!” Nick yells.

Louis nods along, even though Nick can’t see him. He knows he’s right, but Louis hadn’t found his true inspiration yet. He takes another bite of toast, hoping the crunch isn’t loud enough for Nick to hear.

“This is the final straw. If you don’t have your designs submitted today, you’re gone. Got it?” Nick spits out.

Louis almost chokes on the piece of toast in his mouth. “Are you kidding me?” Louis almost yells, “The show is two weeks away, I have time to finish my designs and give them to you before then. You know how much this job means to me!”

He hears Nick sigh on the other side of the call. He and Nick have never been on good terms, Louis always turning assignments in late and Nick being too overly critical to show any sort of appreciation. Nevertheless, Louis has still kept working for him, no matter how much of a dick he was.

“Fine,” Nick sounded defeated. “You have until Thursday, four days, okay? If there is nothing on my desk then, you’re gone.”

“Got it. Thank you so much, Nick,” Louis said, already panicking.

“Thursday, no later,” is all Nick said before he hung up the phone.

Louis placed his phone face down on the table, staring up at the ceiling. He knew it was damn near impossible to design almost three whole lines in four days, but he was never one for giving up.

Louis stood up to go shower, nearly tripping over Max, who was now sleeping peacefully on the floor. He looked down at him and smiled, wishing he knew what was going on inside his dog’s mind. Probably dreams of chasing rabbits through fields, or splashing in puddles. Louis kept imagining different dream scenarios for his dog as he started the warm water of the shower, trying to have a little peace before starting a hectic week.

****

 

The moment Louis’ car rolls into the parking lot, he can already see Zayn leaning against a wall of the building, smoking. Louis has told him countless times to stop, that it’s a nasty habit, but they both knew that he was not only saying it for Zayn, but also himself. Louis has officially been two years without a cigarette, but even seeing Zayn smoking makes his fingers itch to hold one again.

Zayn looks up from his phone when he hears Louis walking up. He puts the cigarette out, not wanting to be the reason Louis was triggered enough to pick one up again.

“Hey man, what’s up?” Zayn says, making light conversation.

“Nick called me this morning and said I have four days to complete three lines for the Paris show. And if I don’t get them to him, he’s going to fire me,” Louis says without making eye contact.

“Woah,” Zayn breathes out. “That’s rough. Do you think you can do it? I mean, I know you can, since your a great designer and all, but do you have enough done already?”

“I think so,” Louis contemplates, thinking back to his desk and all the papers cluttered on it. “I have lots of half finished ideas. I just have to pick three and make them really good by Thursday.”

“Do you want me to come by and take a look, give my two cents?” Zayn offers, “I know I’m not a designer, but I can try to help out.”

Louis finally makes eye contact with him. He still doesn’t understand how Zayn can only see himself as a model, when he has helped Louis and other designers countless times, he obviously has a knack for designing. Even in his everyday clothes, he always looks like his is ready for the runway.

“That would be great. Come by later today,” Louis says.

Zayn opens his mouth to say something, but hesitates. When he sees Louis give him a questioning look, he decides to just come out with it, knowing Louis would force it out either way.  
 “Have you tried asking Liam? I mean, just because he is a really good designer as well, might be able to help speed the process along,” Zayn says, trying to act casual.

Louis smirks at him, seeing right through him. “Yeah, I’ll ask him. I’ll have him come by the same time you are, so you guys can knock ideas of each other.”

“That’s not- I didn’t- I meant-“ Zayn stutters. “I meant just for him to give his opinions. Why would I care if we are there at the same time?” Zayn says while staring at the ground. He can feel his cheeks becoming hot, knowing if he looks at Louis he will know everything he is thinking.

Louis doesn’t say anything, deciding to spare his friend any more embarrassment.

Zayn is still blushing and poorly attempting to hide it when the door next to them swings open.

“Hey Liam,” Louis says happily, glancing at Zayn, who is now staring at his phone so intensely Louis thinks he might break it from his glare.

“Hey guys,” Liam greets. When his eyes land on Zayn his cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

Louis grabs his phone out of his back pocket and pretends to reply to a text.

“So sorry guys but I just got a text from Nick saying to come to his office, probably to yell at me some more. I’ll see you later!” Louis calls over his shoulder as he walks into the building, only turning around long enough to see Liam glare at him for leaving him alone with Zayn.

Louis opens up his messages and quickly types one to Liam. ‘now's your chance, tell him how much you want to fuck’.

A moment later his phone is buzzing. ‘fuck you’ is all it reads from Liam.

Louis sends back a simple ‘:)))’, along with an eggplant and peach emojis, hoping Liam actually says words other than ‘sandwich’ and ‘weather’ to Zayn.

Louis turns the corner and sits down at his desk. There are papers scattered everywhere, some half finished projects, some with just one single beginning design. He leans back in his chair with his hands on the back of his head and sighs, not sure how he is going to pull this off.

He grabs a stack of paper with designs of ballroom gowns on them to consider for the show when Liam walks into the room, closing the door behind him.

“And what the hell was that?” Liam exclaims, gesturing to the general area where Louis left him and Zayn alone.

“What are you talking about, love?” Louis asks as gently as possible.

“You know that I really like him Louis. Why would you put me on the spot like that?” Liam asks.  
“To get you to talk to him, Liam! You haven’t had a relationship with anyone for a long time now, you should at least try with him. And I’m pretty sure he likes you back so you have nothing to be nervous about,” Louis says.

Liam’s ears perk up at that. “He likes me back? How do you know?” Liam questions.

“Oh my god,” Louis groans. “This isn’t middle school. Just go and talk to him yourself. It really isn’t that hard.”

“Well at least I have a chance with someone here,” Liam says. “You have’t even looked at anyone, boy or girl, since you broke up with Eleanor six years ago.”

The tension in the room goes thick, and Louis doesn’t look up. “Too far Liam,” he says, just above a whisper.

“I know, I heard it as soon as I said it.” Liam knows how hard that breakup was on Louis. Knows that’s the reason he starting smoking, knows that’s the reason he has trust issues with almost everyone he knows.

“I’m sorry. I just want you to find someone amazing to take to Paris and have a great life with. And I know you say you are happy on your own and I believe that, I just think it would be nice for you to try and meet someone, even if you end up never seeing them again.” Liam says, sounding as heartfelt as he can.

Louis nods, knowing Liam is right. He supposes it would be nice to wake up to someone each day, to sing while making pancakes and take soapy showers with. He tries not to think about that though. It just makes him want to pick up another cigarette, and he refuses to go down that road again.

“I’m trying, Liam. I really am,” Louis says. “It’s just hard for me to let anyone in.”

“Yeah, I know,” is all Liam needs to say. They have a connection that others don’t understand. They know exactly what the other means just from a few words.

Louis goes back to designing a gown while Liam scrolls through his phone, absentmindedly liking pictures on Instagram.

The tension in the room has faded, and the silence is comfortable as they each do their own things. That comfortable silence is gone in an instant when the door opens and Nick steps into the room. Louis shoots up from his chair, wishing he were taller to match Nick’s eye level.

“Hello Nick,” Louis says as politely as possible, considering he might not even work here anymore come Friday.

“Hello Louis. How are your designs coming along? Quickly, I hope?” Nick says, while peering down at the cluttered table Louis sits at.

Liam doesn’t move, as much afraid of Nick as Louis is, he opts to stare at his phone and refuses to make a sound.  
“It’s going well, sir. I think I’ll submit this line of ballroom gowns and tuxes, and possibly the bathing suits. Not so sure about the third one yet, but it will come to me,” Louis says, trying his best to sound confident.

Nick picks up the papers for the two lines he mentioned, and looks them over in detail. He makes no sound save for a small grunt, which Louis hopes is of approval, before setting them back down.

“On my desk by Thursday, no later. Also, if you do by some miracle come to Paris, you need a date,” is all he says as he walks towards the door.

“Will do, sir. Thank you,” Louis smiles at him. As soon as the door shuts, he collapses back into his chair, letting out a long groan.

“Did you hear that?” Louis asks. “Even Nick is on me about getting a date.”

“Mate, I think what he said was that if you want to go to Paris, you need one,” Liam says. “I know it’s really stupid, but that’s the world we live in. You look bad if you go alone.”

“I know,” is all that Louis groans back.

Liam looks at him with sad eyes, knowing how stressed Louis is. A second later, a light bulb goes off in his mind, and he quickly opens up his messages with Niall. ‘have a great idea, need to talk in person soon.’ Liam sends.

He looks back up at Louis, who is back to sketching designs while muttering something about how much he hates Nick, dates, and society for making him have one. Liam gets up silently, deciding to let Louis be, to continue working on his projects in his own little world.

Liam races down the hall to where Niall is on set for a shoot, looking around the large room full of models for his friend. When he catches Niall’s eye from across the room, the blonde haired boy sprints over to him.

“I got your text. What ever it is, I’m in,” Niall says.

Liam smiles at him, knowing exactly what he want to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again! I hope everyone is enjoying this so far, this chapter is a bit longer than the other two. as always, let me know if you like it!

Rain is coming down in sheets outside, the sound of the water hitting the windows getting louder by the minute. Louis is sitting at his kitchen table at home, working on his designs. Max is underneath the table snuggled up to Louis’ feet, cowering from the rain. For such a big dog, the small things in life still easily frighten him.

As Nick has already reminded him four times today, he only has three days left to submit his designs. He has taken to isolating himself from society until he gets them done. The last he saw Liam was when he rushed out of his office the previous day and Louis heard his footsteps racing down the hall. Being too engaged in his work he didn’t think much of it, but looking back now it is odd behaviour for Liam.  
Outside, the rain has gotten even harder. Louis is wondering if there might be some hail as well, when there is a knock at the door. Max jumps up, startled. Louis pats his head to try and calm his as he walks towards the door, wondering who the hell has showed up during a downpour.

As he opens the door his eyes come to rest on the stranger. He has seen him before, the green eyes, the curly hair, but can’t place it. For a second, he is standing in the doorway staring at him, desperately searching his memory for how he knows this man. Not even a moment later, it hits him.

“Hello, I’m Harry. Can I assume you’re Louis?” Harry says while smiling and holding his hand out for Louis to shake, and Louis notices he has dimples.

Fuck.

Louis struggles for words for a moment, while Harry patiently stands in the doorway. Eventually he manages to mumble “yeah, I’m Louis,” and shakes Harry’s outstretched hand, although his answer sounds more like a question. 

Harry looks at him for a moment with a questioning eyebrow raised. Instead of saying anything, he decides to move on.

“Is it okay if I come in?” Harry asks.

Louis nods, stepping to the side and swinging the door open wider. Harry steps past him and Louis can smell his cologne; it’s rustic and fits him perfectly. Harry goes to it on the couch while Louis is still standing next to the wide open door, too shocked and confused to make any sort of small talk.

Harry sits down on the couch adjacent to the kitchen and coos at Max when he runs over to him, sticking his giant head on Harry’s lap.

Louis rushes over to Max, pulling on his collar to get him off Harry.

“I’m so sorry, he doesn’t know how big he actually is,” Louis says while still holding Max back. “He’s also very friendly, so don’t worry he won’t bite.,” Louis is impressed with himself for getting two whole sentences out without stuttering. This wouldn’t normally be an achievement, but given that the guy he has only seen on Craigslist is sitting on his couch, that’s worthy of a gold medal.

“That’s alright, I love dogs,” Harry says while watching Max. Louis smiles at him at that, not knowing anything else to say. Harry knows first meetings can sometimes be awkward for clients, so he has gotten good at making them feel comfortable with him.

“So,” Harry begins, pulling out a file from the bag Louis didn’t notice he had swung around him, “From your email from the other day when you first contacted me I see you are in need of a fake date?” Harry asks, reading off a sheet of paper.

Louis stares at him like he just told him that they are all actually living on Mars right now. Harry finally looks up and makes eye contact with Louis for the first time, and Louis didn’t know that eyes could be that piercing of a shade of green. 

Harry sees the utter confusion on Louis’ face and clears his throat, saying, “It was you that contacted me, correct?”

Louis shakes his head, he had thought about contacting Harry a few times since he found his ad - to be fair he had thought about a lot of things involving Harry since he found the ad - but never actually went through with it, too afraid of what people would think of him if they found out. How would he ever describe to Liam that he hired a fa— wait. A light bulb goes off in Louis' head.

Running his fingers through his hair, Harry is about to start gathering his things and apologizing to Louis for bothering him when Louis speaks up.

“Wait,” is all he says while holding up his hand, his face looking like he has thousands of thoughts racing through his mind. 

Louis grabs his phone from the coffee table and pulls up Liam’s chat. ‘Did you fucking hire me someone to pretend to be my date for the show??’ Louis types, getting more angry and confused by the minute.

Not a minute later, Liam types back a winking emoji and nothing else. Louis has a lot to say to him right now, but he will get to that later. 

“I’m so sorry about this,” Louis says, “it was my friend that contacted you without me knowing, I had no idea you were going to show up here.”

“Oh,” Harry says, clearly confused about the situation. “Well I am getting paid for what is essentially a consultation for an hour today with you. So if you are at all interested, we can continue on as planned.”

Louis takes a moment to consider everything, staring at the rain still pounding down on the windows outside. 

He was originally the one who found Harry, not Liam. He supposes that was just a really good coincidence. Louis puts his face in his hands, not believing what he is about to say.

“Alright, let’s get on with it then,” he half groans half says to Harry.

“Great!” Harry replies, pulling out another stack of papers from his bag.

“So,” Harry starts, “when one hires someone such as myself to go on fake dates or be in pretend relationships with them, there are some rules and guidelines. For example, you first will need to sign this contract, saying you will in no way get violent or physical outside of the terms agreed upon.”

Harry is about to go on when Louis interrupts, “so are you basically a male escort?” Louis can feel his cheeks heat up when Harry breaks eye contact pull out a different form.

“That,” he says, “is extra,” with a small smirk. “If that is what you are looking for, there are different rates for different, how to put it, activities,” Harry says, sliding the paper across the table sitting between them. 

Louis grabs it and reads the rates listed. Hand and blow jobs alone are twenty pounds a piece, full on sex ranges from one seventy five to one hundred pounds, and anything beyond that, such as the different kinks listed are all twenty pounds add on’s.

“Now, if that’s not what your looking for,” Harry says, “the flat rate for just dates is sixty pounds an hour, all of that is in addition,” Harry makes a gesture towards the paper in Louis’ hand.

He slides the paper back across the table towards Harry. “I don’t think I’ll be needing this one,” he says, going against the voice in the back of his head that yes, that is exactly what he wants. He watches as Harry places the paper back into his bag, noticing all the veins on his large hands and the three rings he wears.

“Alright then,” Harry continues, “do you have a ballpark estimate for how long you will be needing my services? And if you already know, where it will take place?”

Louis fumbles with his hands, wishing he had a cigarette. “I don’t know if this is within your limits,” Louis says, “but I would need you for a full week.”

Harry’s face lights up. “That’s totally doable! I don’t have a problem with long term contracts.”

“In Paris,” Louis finishes.

“Oh, wow,” Harry says. “Wasn’t expecting that one.”

“I can pay for everything, airfare, hotel, food, all of it,” Louis says, surprising himself. He suddenly really wants Harry to come with him to Paris.

“No, I would pay for all that,” Harry says, waving his hand dismissively in the air. “You would just pay the sixty an hour, and any other ad on’s, if you choose to.”

“Alright then,” Louis says, surprised with how well everything is going. “The trip is just under two weeks away, and it’s for a fashion show.”

The light in Harry’s eyes somehow get even brighter when Louis says that. “That’ll be so cool! Are you just going for fun?” Harry asks, intrigued by Louis.

“No, I’m one of the designers, and we all have to have dates for the show because for some reason we will look bad if we go alone. That’s where you come in,” Louis says, gesturing towards Harry and the papers.

“That must be a fun job, getting to design clothes and travel the world,” Harry says while resting his forearms on his legs, leaning even closer towards Louis.

Louis shrugs, he knows loads of people think being a designer is a glamorous job, but some of the fun is taken away with insanely strict deadlines and bosses like Nick. 

“Yeah, it’s alright,” Louis says. Harry can tell he doesn’t want to elaborate so he doesn’t push it. Before Harry can change the subject, Louis does it for him.

“So how did you get into doing this? I assume it’s not what you dreamed of being as a kid,” Louis says with a small smile.

Harry giggles at that, and God, Louis did not need to know how cute of a giggle he has.

“Nope, defiantly didn’t dream of doing this as a kid, I wanted to be a photographer. Still do, I have always loved everything about it. But I got into this about eight years ago. I had just moved out of my parents house and didn’t have a job or any leads on one. One day a friend told me he were going to a family reunion and knew his parents would be on him for not dating anyone, so he asked me to fake it. It went so well that I decided I could do that for money, and now here we are,” Harry finishes. 

Louis nods along with his story, thankful to whoever it was that needed a date for a family reunion, that lead Harry to his living room couch.

“What about you? Did you always dream of seeing your creations on a runway?” Harry asks, genuinely curious.

Louis clears his throat and grabs at the bracelet around his wrist, immediately getting anxious about the fact that Eleanor is part of this story, part of his story.

“Sort of,” he begins. “Seven years ago I met my best friend, actually the one who first got in contact with you. When we met, I was dating this girl, we had been going out for a few years. The next year, we broke up, and I didn’t take it well at all,” is all Louis says about that, figuring Harry doesn’t need to know about all the destructive things that happened.

“He helped me get through a really rough time in my life, even if I did think he was too serious and boring at first. One day I went to work with him, because he is also a designer and knows I have always been interested. He took me to his office and I met loads of designers and models and I was sold. The next week the same agency hired me and I have been there ever since,” Louis says.

Harry nods like it was the best story he has ever heard. “Well, I’m glad it all worked out for you then, after a bad breakup and all,” Harry says, hoping he hasn’t crossed a line.

“Yeah, same here,” Louis says. They fall into a partially comfortable silence after that, the only sound being Harry shuffling papers back into his bag.

“I still have about half an hour paid for with you, do you have anymore questions concerning the contracts or how this all works?” Harry asks.

Louis shakes his head. “No, I think I’m good for now,” he says while standing up. “Should I text you to work out the small details or if anything comes up?”

“Yeah, that would be great,” Harry replies while reaching for his phone. They exchange numbers as they walk towards the door. Louis looks out the window for the first time in half an hour and notices the sun is shining brightly.

“Alright then,” Harry says as he hands Louis his phone back. “Let me know if there are any changes, and I’ll book airfare as soon as I can.”

“Sounds great,” Louis says, and he genuinely means it. The thought of going to Paris with Harry is equal parts thrilling and daunting.

Harry opens the door and steps out onto the front step. “I’ll see you soon, Louis!” he waves as he walks down to his car.

Louis shouts a goodbye back and shuts the door behind him, standing and staring at the ceiling, trying to process what the hell just happened. He never thought that he would ever actually meet Harry, never even dreamed of actually going to Paris with him.

He reaches into his back pocket and gets his phone, tapping Liam’s name. He sends a text with strings of profanities and other words along the lines of ‘how could you spring this on me??’ and ‘I hate you but he’s gorgeous so maybe I don’t hate you just strongly dislike’. All Liam replies with is a simple ‘you’re welcome’ and another winking emoji. 

Louis goes to lie down in his bed, telling himself that this will be a strictly fake date, and he is in no way allowed to develop actual feelings. He has been hurt before by people he thought he loved and was loved by before, and he is not willing to go down that path again. 

‘You don’t even know if he likes guys,’ Louis tells himself over and over, doing his hardest not to think about how he can still slightly smell his cologne. He thinks about how Harry looked sitting on his couch, and how he would look sitting on his bed.

Louis is fighting with his mind, desperately telling it to stop racing a thousand thoughts a minute with how Harry would look laying naked on his bed. His body protests however as his cock gets hard and begs to be touched.

Against his will, Louis obliges. He lies on his bed and gets off to thoughts of harryharryharry. With each stroke imagining a different place, scene, anything and everything to do with Harry. He imagines how Harry would look on top of him, his green eyes staring down into his as he fucks into Louis with passion.

When he finishes he rolls over and turns toward the shower, knowing he is already fucked.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so here's chapter four!! sorry this one took longer, school was killing me but now summer is here! please let me know what you think hope you enjoy!

After his impromptu meeting with Harry and even more impromptu getting off to thoughts of him, Louis is determined to get back to work and think of nothing but designs. He has been sitting at his desk for a few hours, and has only checked his phone three times for messages from Harry, which he considers an achievement. Niall is sitting on the opposite side of the desk in a wooden chair that creaks every time it spins.  
Niall notices Louis going to grab his phone for a fourth time, even though it hasn’t buzzed in hours.

“Mate,” he says, “he’ll text you when he has something to tell you, you need to stop compulsively checking it every two minutes,” he says, exaggerating.

Louis rolls his eyes and checks anyways, just to make sure. But Niall was right, all that stared back at him was his lock screen picture of Max, wagging his tail happily. He sighed and put it face down on the desk.

“Should I maybe text him to see if he wants to grab dinner tonight? Like, to get to know him better so we can really sell this whole fake dating thing?” Louis asks Niall.

“Do you actually want to get to know him for business or get to know him as in your asking him out on a real date?” Niall asks.

“Business!” Louis shoots back, trying to convince himself that’s the truth. He will simply go to dinner with Harry and discuss how everything will work and make sure they are compatible enough to convince everyone they are in love. That is defiantly all he has in mind, he tells himself as his mind flashes back to last night.

Niall looks at him, trying to judge if he is telling the truth. Louis must be a fairly decent actor because he says, “I think that’s a good idea. Just don’t go anywhere super romantic where they have Italian guys going around serenading people.”

Louis laughs as he grabs his phone again and texts Harry, asking if he is free for dinner that night. Not even two minutes later, his phone buzzes.

“He said yes!” Louis exclaims, immediately after telling himself to calm down. He is a grown man setting up a business meeting, not a teenager asking his crush to the prom. 

“We’re going to Marbella’s. That’s not that romantic is it now, Niall?” Louis grins at Niall who just shrugs his shoulders. Louis has never actually been to Marbella’s, but he’s heard it’s nice. He figures if Harry suggested it that it must be casual enough. 

Once he finalizes the time to meet, he kicks Niall out of his office, on terms of needing desperately to work since his deadline is only days away. Louis waits until Niall shuts the door behind him to do a little dance in his chair, thrilled to be going out to dinner with Harry. 

——————————————————————————————————————————

The hands on his clock seemed to slow down to half their normal speed the rest of the day. As soon as it finally ticked to 5:30, he rushed out the building to his car, not wanting to be late for his six o’clock date, or meeting, as he kept reminding himself.

On the car ride over, he sang along to a mix of show tunes and alternative music, all the while wondering what music Harry liked, and telling himself that is probably something he will never learn.

When he pulls up to Marbella’s five minutes before six, his first thought is ‘shit’. The restaurant is far nicer than he expected, with couples walking in wearing long dresses and men in nice slacks. He looks down at his shirt and jeans stained from God knows what and reaches into his pocket. Right when he is about to text Harry and ask if they can change the restaurant, he seems him standing across the parking lot waving. He is dressed nicely of course, and Louis tries unsuccessfully to hide his clothes as he walks to Harry.

“I feel so under dressed, I didn't know this was such a nice place,” Louis explains before saying hello. Harry only smiles at him, and tells him he looks fine. They walk towards the front desk together and are soon sitting in a quiet, dark booth near the back of the restaurant. The loud sounds of the restaurant are faded from where they sit, creating a nice background noise without having to shout across the table. 

“Isn’t this place beautiful?” Harry asks, and Louis has to agree. All around the room lights were strung up, giving the room a soft glow. On each table vases of flowers sat between the couples and small candles flickered light onto their faces, and the staff were all dressed to the tee. ‘Not a romantic restaurant my ass’ Louis thinks. 

“So,” Harry says, distracting Louis from his daydream. “What was it you wanted to discuss?” 

Louis is quiet for a second, not exactly sure what to say. He only knew that he didn’t want to wait any longer to see Harry again, he never thought about what he would actually say when he did though.

“I just wanted to meet with you, to get to know you better. Make sure we will be able to work well together, you know?” Louis says, praying that didn’t sound too much like the description of a date. He thinks it worked as Harry nods.

“That’s a good idea, especially since we’re going to be spending so much time together,” he says, and Louis is relieved. 

“So on that note, tell me about yourself,” Harry says slightly awkwardly, like he wasn't sure where to begin. To be fair Louis isn’t sure where to begin either. Friendship isn't something that can be forced, and he is suddenly really regretting ever asking Harry to this dinner.

“Well,” he says after a pause, “You already know what I do, so I’ll skip that. I could maybe just tell you a bit about my family?” Louis questions, and continues when Harry nods.

“Okay, well, I have a few younger siblings, and my father left when I was young. I’m really close with my mom. She always supported me in fashion when my dad was kind of against it. He always told me fashion was only for girls, which is complete bullshit. Besides that, I don't really have much else to say about them,” he trails off.

A moment of silence fell over them as Harry waited to see if Louis was going to continue. When all Louis did was stare at his glass of water and move the ice cubes around with his straw he figured he was done. 

“I don’t have that much of an exciting family background either,” Harry says. Louis looks up from his glass to meet his eye.

“My mom is also remarried,” he says gesturing to Louis, “I have one sister named Gemma, and we’re very close, always have been. You also know what I do, obviously,” Harry says with a giggle. Louis smiles back at him, his eyes sparkling just like the lights around him.

Soon they fall into comfortable conversation, telling stories about their past, and their dreams for the future. Louis learns that Harry loves kids and wants at least two of his own one day, much to Louis’ surprise. Louis tells him all about Zayn, how they met and have been best friends ever since. Louis thinks this is the most comfortable be has ever been with someone this quickly, and wonders if that is what the beginning of love feels like. For now, he is not thinking about that, and desperately trying to not get distracted by how beautiful Harry’s hair looks surrounded by the strung lights and the flicker of the candle on his face.

After splitting a slice of key lime pie for dessert and Harry insisting on paying the bill, they find themselves standing outside the restaurant, both needing to go home but neither wanting to make the first move to actually do so. 

“I had a really good time tonight,” Harry says, smiling down at Louis.

“Me too,” Louis smiles back.

They stand there just like that for a beat, a beat too long for a business meeting.

“Max is probably starving,” Louis says, feeling bad he hasn’t been home all day.

Harry nods, “Yeah, give him a hug for me.”

“Will do,” Louis says. “I’ll see you soon?”

Harry smiles and says “Of course, we have to go to Paris after all, don't we?”

Louis giggles as he walks back towards his car, blushing all the way until he sits in the drivers seat. 

He sits in his car quietly for a minute before pulling out, replaying every moment of their dinner. He was both going over it because he had such an amazing time but also to see if he came on as desperate, if he was being obvious he might have feelings for Harry.

Finally, he is able to concentrate long enough to make it home safely, where Max bounds up to him while barking for food. Louis retires to bed soon after, being worn out from a long day. He lies in bed and stares at the ceiling, thinking about how Harry moved and the shock he felt when they bumped hands as they both reached for the bread. He thought about all that, but most of all he wondered if Harry was doing the same. 

On the other side of town, Harry had just arrived home as well. He went about his house tidying things, washing dishes and watering his many plants littered around the house. All the while he sang along to sappy love songs, which he would never admit to anyone that he loved. He tried to keep his thoughts off Louis, the way the lights illumined his smile even more.

He has been doing this for years, and has only once came close to developing real feelings for a client. They had spent a while together, and became very close. Harry thought his client felt the same way, and took the risk of telling him how he felt after only a month. Unsurprisingly, the client had gotten angry, and fired Harry on the spot.

Thinking back to this, Harry kept reminding himself how painful that was, and how he will never go down that road again, no matter how cute the boy sitting across from him at the table was. He also decided he couldn't really be to blame here. After all, for years now he has faked many relationships without ever getting the real thing. To sum it up, he was lonely. And Louis made him feel better, more whole than he had in a long time. He wanted to chase that feeling, wanted to feel it deep in his veins, get off on it.

After taking a quick shower Harry climbed into bed. He grabbed his phone and considered texting Louis, but figured it was too soon. Instead he pulled the covers over his head, hoping they would block out any undesired thoughts about boys with blue eyes that shine.

He fell asleep like that, head under a pile of blankets. He never wanted to wake up from this, his little break from reality that was sure to cause him pain in the long run.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so chapter five is both the longest and my personal favorite so far. since it's summer now these will probably be coming even quicker yay! enjoy!!

Liam was sat across from Louis on his couch, cradling Max’s huge head where it rested on his thigh. He had been grilling Louis for the past twenty minutes, asking every detail about the meeting. Louis had given him a run down of it, but he wanted to know everything, down to what Louis was thinking during it.

When Liam asks if he has ever thought out hooking up with Harry, Louis blushes and profusely denies it. Liam just giggles and pokes his side saying “I know you better than that Tommo.” Unfortunately, Liam was right, and Louis ended up telling him about how much he defiantly has thought about hooking up with Harry.

“How about we talk about something else,” Louis says quickly, desperate to finally change the subject from his sex fantasies. “How’s Zayn?”

Liam freezes momentarily, then quickly composes himself. “He’s probably fine, we don’t talk much so how would I know?” he says while staring at his phone.

“Constantly checking all of his social media will probably clue you in to how he’s doing,” Louis says while raising an eyebrow and gesturing to the phone in Liam’s hand, which he promptly puts down.

“I do not do that!” Liam protests. “Yeah we follow each other so I see when he posts, but that’s all,” Liam sighs and leans back deeper into the couch, his arms crossed and head down, trying to curl in on himself. 

Louis goes silent for a second, wanting to make sure Liam knew he wasn't joking when he spoke next.

“You really should try to talk to him more, see how he feels about you. You never know, he might be constantly stalking your social media as well,” Louis says with a small smile. “This might be the start of a fantastic love story, but you’ll never know if you don't ask if he feels the same.”

Liam looks at him, then back down to the floor.

“But what if he doesn’t?” Liam asks, his voice small. Louis knew he would get Liam to say what he really felt, he always has been good at getting information out of people, which as he has learned, can be both a blessing and a curse. 

Louis scoots closer to Liam and rubs his arm, trying his best to make his best friend feel better. Liam, Louis thinks, deserves all the love in the world. He is the best friend that Louis has ever had, and deserves nothing less than his soulmate. And if that person is Zayn, Louis is going to work his ass off to get Liam to the alter.

“How could he not?” Louis says staring Liam in the eye. Liam smiles back at him, but the light of his smile doesn't reach his eyes. They are still heavy and sad, weighed down by all the questions he wants to ask Zayn, all the doubts he keeps hidden away from daylight in the back of his mind. 

Louis picks up Liam’s phone and pushes it into his hand.

“Text him,” he urges. “Ask him to a simple dinner.”

Liam’s face lights up at that, like he just came up with the best idea he has ever thought of. 

“Can you come? Maybe with Harry? Just so it won’t be too awkward just the two of us?” Liam practically begs. His eyes are still big and round, although this time there is a glimmer of hope in the center of his pupil. 

“Like a double date?” Louis says. He’s doesn't think Liam has ever actually met Harry face to face before, but he’s sure they would get on fine. They all will be spending time together in Paris as well, so it might be good to make sure they all click together. So he agrees to Liam’s plan, strictly only inviting Harry for business purposes. And how could he say no to those puppy dog eyes? 

Five minutes later, Liam and Zayn are set to go to dinner at a small cafe with Louis and Harry. For the rest of the day, Louis and Liam sit around playing video games, both trying to distract themselves from the nerves that set in as soon as the dinner plans were confirmed.

——————————————————————————————————————————

The next day Liam and Louis are sitting in Liam’s giant Range Rover, on their way to dinner. They hadn't talked much about it, neither wanting to make the other overly anxious. Instead they rode the highway singing along to the Spice Girls. When Liam finished his spot on rendition of ‘Wannabe’ Louis spoke up.

“So are you nervous?” he asked, reaching over to turn the volume down. Liam nodded quickly, keeping his eyes fixed on the road.

“This is the first time we’ve hung out together outside of work, so yeah I’m nervous. I don’t even know him that well, what if we end up having nothing to talk about?” Liam says, already feeling his nerves kicking into high gear. He has always had an anxiety issue, and Louis knows all about it. There have been many times in the course of their friendship where Louis has had to calm him down after a panic attack or answer his ringing cell phone at three a.m. to reassure Liam that everything will be alright. 

“I’m sure you'll have something to talk about. I mean you both work in the fashion industry, so you already have something in common. And also, please be nice to Harry, I really want things to work out between us.” Liam sees Louis playing with his fingers in the seat beside him, a nervous habit.

“Of course I’ll be nice to him. I was the one who contacted him to begin with so I’m obviously not going to be a dick,” Liam says, hoping to make Louis laugh. Louis smiles a little, more out of politeness than actual humor.

They pull up in front of the restaurant a few minutes later, and search the crowded parking lot. Louis hops out of the car first and walks to Liam’s side, waiting for him to get out to walk inside. They tell the waitress they are waiting for two more and are led inside and are seated a booth along the wall. They sit on opposite sides, much to Liam’s protests, who wanted to sit next to Louis. “We can’t be those weird people who sit on the same side of the booth!” Louis had argued, and Liam was too tired to put up a fight.

“So here we are,” Louis says, peering at Liam over the brim of his menu, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“How are you feeling? Need any water? A pep talk? I will not hesitate to come over there and scream in your face to be pleasant and possibly hook up with him,” Louis says, already feeling more at ease now that they were inside. Liam on the other hand, wasn’t doing so well. He looked calm on the outside, but inside his heart was beating and head was spinning. He took a sip of water and tried to concentrate on Louis.

When he finally managed to calm down, the bliss didn’t last for long because seconds later Louis was sitting up in his seat shouting ‘Harry!’ and waving like a madman. Harry walked up to the booth and waved back to Louis, even though he was right in front of him. Louis introduced Harry to Liam and vise versa, and Harry took his seat beside Louis.

By chance, Zayn walked in moments later, and again Louis introduced Harry. Zayn took his seat next to Liam, making sure to leave space between them, seeing as he didn't know what was acceptable in this situation.

There was a brief, somewhat awkward silence as Zayn settled in next to Liam, no one sure what to say first. It was a slightly odd gathering of people; Louis and Liam had been best friends for years, which might make Harry and Zayn feel like third wheels. Also the facts that Liam had a huge crush on Zayn, unbeknownst to him, and that Harry was only there because he was essentially Louis’ escort. All in all, a recipe for a perfectly awkward dinner.

Liam shot Louis a look with raised eyebrows, a plea for him to say something, anything to get conversation going.

“So Zayn,” Louis starts, not entirely sure where his sentence was going, “did you know that Harry here is going to be my fake date for the Paris show?” Louis looks at Liam to see if he approved. Liam just rolls his eyes and looks at Zayn.

Zayn clears his throat because, yes, he did know that, but he didn’t think that was going to be the icebreaker.

“Um, yeah, Liam told me a few days ago.” He turns to Harry, “You are going to have so much fun at the show, even if your not into fashion it’s still really fun to walk around and talk to people and such,” Zayn says.

“I’m actually really excited to go!” Harry exclaims, and Louis looks away to hide his blush. “I’m pretty into fashion but have never had the chance to go to an actual show, especially such an impressive one in Paris!”

Louis shifts in his seat. If Harry were to be any cuter right now he thinks he might just implode on himself.

Harry turns his attention to Liam. “You’ve been to the Paris show before right? Have you walked on the runways there?” Harry asks Liam, genuinely interested.

Liam blushes slightly, he has always been humble, doesn't like to brag about his job, even though it is amazing. 

“I’ve walked in the Paris show three times actually,” Liam replies, smiling at Harry.

“Wow, so all of you guys can really show me the ropes in a week,” Harry says, looking at all of them. 

Louis nods to Harry, who looks very pleased that he will get to spend one week in Paris with people he has known less than three days. He glances over at Zayn, who is twirling the ice in his cup with a straw, looking like he is in his own little world. Before Louis can say anything, Harry cuts in, apparently also having noticed that Zayn has been quiet.

“So Zayn,” he begins as Zayn snaps his head up, forced back to reality. “All I know about you is that you’re a model, tell me more about yourself,” Harry says.

“Well, what do you want to know?” Zayn asks, not really sure what to say to someone he met five minutes ago.

“For example, people hire me to go on fake dates with them to get their family and coworkers to shut up about being alone,” he says, nodding his head towards Louis, “but I also really enjoy photography and any book written by Jodi Picoult.”

Zayn snorts into his drink. “You sound more like a dating profile than trying to get to know me, mate,” he says and the other three boys laugh. 

“On that note, I’m a model but I also enjoy creative things, not so much photography but I love to draw, paint, and sing,” Zayn says, his posture becoming more relaxed as he talks. “I also really like super heroes, both comic book and movie versions.” 

Liam’s eyes light up at that. “I love super heroes also! Who’s your favourite?” At that Zayn and Liam jump into a discussion about all the super heroes they like, seemingly forgetting Harry and Louis were on the other side of the table. Harry noticed Louis smiling fondly at Liam, watching as he never took his eyes off Zayn, who was passionately arguing if Batman or Superman would win in a fight.

Harry nudges Louis and scrunches up his eyebrows, nonverbally asking if there is something going on he doesn't know. Louis grabs his phone and texts Harry the situation, how Liam is practically in love with Zayn and they aren't sure if Zayn feels the same way. He also adds how this is the longest conversation they have ever had outside of work and that it is a pretty big step, no matter how cheesy it sounds.

From then on, the dinner goes well. The awkward atmosphere faded completely, and soon all the boys were laughing at Harry for being so messy while eating his ribs.

By the end of the night, no one really wants to go back home. They are all standing outside the restaurant after being kicked out by the owners for being the last people there and holding up the staff from going home.

“Liam and Zayn have really hit it off tonight,” Harry says to Louis, peering around his shoulder to see the two of them talking by Liam’s car. Louis nods back, also amazed at how well it is going, and excited to be able to shout ‘I told you so!’ in Liam’s face soon.

“So,” Harry says, turning on his heels to face Louis. “This might sound a bit strange, and if you don't want to I totally understand, but sometimes with new clients, if we are going to have to really sell being together, they like to go home and practice kissing and things like that. Would that be something you want to do or do we not have to go that far?” Harry asks.

Louis is a bit taken back, not having expected to be offered to kiss Harry. He wants to, but not for business reasons. He tries to think practically, will he need to kiss Harry at the show? He is a lead designer, so it might be necessary. He’s not sure if that’s just an excuse his mind is telling him, but he really does’t care, because he really wants to kiss Harry.

Louis looks up at Harry and nods. “Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea.”

“Okay, I assume you want to do it in the comfort of your own home right? That’s what most clients usually want.” 

Louis is a little bit hurt every time Harry refers to him as a client, but it is also a good reality check, to remind him that this is strictly business, and Harry is not actually a potential boyfriend.

“At home would be nice,” Louis says. “When?”

“I mean, we could go now, I don't have any other plans for the night and it’s only eight o’clock,” Harry says.

Louis nods, “Yeah, now would be fine. How about you follow me and Liam home, since he’s dropping me back off,” he proposes.

Harry nods, “sounds like a plan.”

Louis walks over to Liam, who is laughing hysterically at something Zayn just said. “C’mon, time to go home,” he says, gently pushing Liam into the drivers seat of his car. They all say goodbye to each other, promising to get together soon, and Liam pulls out of the parking lot with Harry following behind.

“Seems like you had a good night,” Louis says, perching his elbows on the console between the seats, his head in his hands.

“Yeah, I really did,” is all Liam replies, but Louis can see in his face that there was a lot more feeling behind the words than he is letting on to. Liam was never one to talk a lot about his feelings when he didn’t want to, so Louis doesn't need to push it, seeing Liam so happy was explanation enough.

“Why is Harry following us?” Liam asks, looking in his rearview mirror.

“He’s coming back to my place to hang out,” Louis half lies, not wanting to tell the real reason Harry was coming over. 

They pull in front of Louis house, and Liam parks the car. “Well you two have fun, and be safe,” he says, over dramatically winking. Louis rolls his eyes and hops out of the car, watching as Harry takes the spot Liam just left.

They walk inside together, and go to sit on the couch with Max, who was following Harry’s every step.

“This isn’t going to be too weird right?” Louis asks once they are comfortable with glasses of water each.

“It’s only going to be weird if you make it weird,” Harry replies smoothly.

Louis still feels apprehensive, not sure how to start. Do they count down? Should they talk first to set the mood? Do they give each other massages? He is praying that Harry will know what’s best, and it seems his prayers have been answered when Harry puts his cup down on the coffee table and turns to Louis.

“So I know that this is still a slightly odd situation,” Harry starts, and continues when Louis nods. “Just remember this is all for practice, think of it like your practicing for the finals in a sport, except this is a lot more intimate.”

Louis nods, he can think of it like football practices. At that moment Harry slides closer to him on the sofa, looking down at Max to make sure he doesn’t hurt him.

“Okay,” Harry says, “Ready?” Louis nods, even though he’s really not. He leans closer into Harry, mirroring his actions, and then he feels it. He feels Harry’s lips against his. He can feel the soft of his lips and the slight scrape of the hair around them, and it’s perfect. Harry starts to move his mouth against Louis’, taking it as slow as possible. A few seconds later Harry pulls away, to see how Louis is holding up.

“I’m okay,” Louis says, as if reading Harry’s thoughts. “That wasn’t nearly as weird as I expected it to be.”

“Good, I’m glad kissing me wasn’t as gross as you imagined it,” Harry says with a smirk. Louis smiles and lightly hits his shoulder.

“Should we go again?” Harry asks.

Louis nods, careful to seem casual and not too eager. This time Louis is the one in control. He kisses Harry lightly at first, then after a few minutes decides to test his luck and opens his mouth. To his surprise, Harry is all for it, and copies his actions.

A few minutes pass with them sitting on the couch, making out. They are slowing falling down so they are laying, with Harry on top of Louis. Suddenly, the intensity spiked for Louis, who then reached up and grabbed a fistful of Harry’s long hair and pulled, hard. Harry groaned loudly into Louis’ mouth, but a second later his eyes flew open and he quickly sat up on the couch, breathing heavily. Louis shot up right after, embarrassed.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I took it way too far, I shouldn’t have done that I’m so sorry,” he rambles on, not daring to look at Harry.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Harry says, trying to calm Louis down. “I just got a bit surprised is all.”

Louis nods, not sure he really believes Harry, but he doesn’t want to talk about it further.

“I should go now,” Harry says, and Louis agrees. They walk to the door together and Louis opens it for Harry, letting to chilly breeze into the house.

“This was good work today,” Harry says, trying to make a joke out of the situation. Louis just half heartedly laughs.

“Text me soon so we can do something again,” Harry says, and Louis is grateful that he even wants to see him again after what happened. Harry walks out to his car and waves to Louis one last time before they both shut their doors.

Louis groans loudly to the empty house, and goes to get a beer from the fridge. He spends the rest of the night trying to take his mind off what happened, but that was slightly hard considering he could still taste Harry on his lips. He decides to get in the shower to rinse away every bit of Harry he could still sense, and it almost works. He goes to bed that night replaying every moment of the dinner and the events that followed. He thinks that even if his night turned out like shit, at least Liam go to finally talk to Zayn for a while.

He eventually falls asleep, wondering what is going to happen between him and Harry and why he would run off like that, considering he was the one who wanted to practice kissing in the first place. Maybe he really was just taken by surprise, he thinks, or maybe he is starting to have actual feelings as well. Louis quickly pushes that thought out of his mind, telling himself that, at least not in this universe, would a man like Harry Styles love someone like him.


End file.
